November 30, 2015

California is a bellwether state in environmental and energy
matters. The most recent illustration is the promulgation of Assembly Bill 802
and The Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015.

The impact will be felt on two deeply related fronts: The laws
mean that the amount of electricity generated from renewables will accelerate
more aggressively between now and 2030 and, beginning on January 1, 2017,
disclosure laws on energy use in non-residential buildings will change to
enable collected data to more effectively aid in the creation of efficiency
programs.

LegTrack offers a good rundown of the new laws.

The Clean Energy
and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015: SB 350 mandates that that half of
the electricity generated and sold to retail customers be from renewables by
Dec. 31, 2030. It requires that the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission set annual targets that will result in a doubling of
efficiency and savings in electrical and natural gas usage by Jan. 1, 2030. SB
350 also mandates that the electrical industry by reestablished into an
Independent System Operator structure.

The key to the new law is an increase in the amount of
energy derived from renewables. The law firm of Perkins Coie LLP traces
the growth of renewables in California writes that the level of energy
from renewables is set forth in the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) which
is overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The
proportion of electricity from renewables and the dates by which the stated
level must be attained both have shifted since its original enactment in 2002.
The latest requirement – raising the level from 33 percent to 50 percent by
2030 – is set forth in SB 350.

SB 350 also sets a new overall course. Austin Whitman, the
Director of Regulatory Affairs for FirstFuel Software, posted at commentary
earlier this month at Energy Manager Today that noted
the importance of the new approach:

Assembly Bill 802: The
State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, in consultation
with the Public Utilities Commission, will be required to conduct assessments
and forecasts of energy industry “supply, production, transportation, delivery,
distribution, demand, and prices.”

The findings will be used to develop and evaluate energy
policies and programs. Utilities will be required to maintain records of all
buildings in their footprints for the most recent year. Beginning on Jan. 1,
2017, this and/or other authorized information will be available to those
authorized under the act. By Sept. 1, 2016, the Public Utilities Commission
will authorize electric and gas companies to provide incentives, rebates and
technical assistance to increase building efficiency. Costs for those programs
could be included in rates.

At his website, Allen Matkins provides background
on AB 802. It replaces AB 1103, which will remain in effect until the end
of the year. Both bills are aimed at compelling utilities to track and make
available energy usage data on non-residential buildings.

AB 1103, however, “has been plagued with implementation
problems” since it was enacted in 2007. A key problem, Matkins writes, is that
it is difficult or even impossible under AB 1103 for tenants to get the
authorizations necessary to compel utilities to provide the data. AB 802 is an
effort to alleviate this and other problems.

The bottom line is that the two bills represent significant
changes to how energy is generated, distributed and managed in the state.

In response to questions posed by Energy Manager
Today, Chris Busch, the Director of Research for Energy Innovation, lauded
the new laws. Busch, the lead author (Erica Lew and Joe DiStefano are the
other authors) of a study entitled “Moving California Forward,” wrote that the
laws are important. “There may be one or two states that have higher RPS
[Renewables Portfolio Standard] targets, but for a large state the size of CA
to commit to a minimum of 50% renewable energy is very important,” he wrote.

Clearly, there is a strategy in place: Drive renewables and
encourage creativity and entrepreneurship. Intelligent Utility suggeated that
the laws do a good job of enabling utilities and their customers to take
advantage of technologies that weren’t available under the older statutes:

By allowing utilities to pair meter data with data analytics
to find and measure savings, Assembly Bill 802 empowers customers to reduce
usage in their energy system as a whole, rather than focusing narrowly on
replacement of equipment. Customers will be able to better track how they
reduce energy waste in commercial buildings, as well as at home, and be
incentivized for doing so.

While Busch is satisfied that the state has taken a big step
forward, he suggests that much work remains:

“These bills don’t really affect smart growth in the sense
of driving more focused, less sprawling, more walkable, more transit oriented
that is the topic of our report,” he wrote. “One weakness of these bills is
California needs to work toward a policy framework that optimizes the
electricity system. The 50% by 2030 RPS is a great step, but on its own will
not motivate the type of system optimization needed for the most economically
beneficial approach to building out our modern, low-carbon electricity system.”